damned_institute | Day 21

Ichigo was only too eager to leave the cafeteria and its fresh memories behind when the softened chime of the intercome rang clear. What had begun as another ordinary meal, a rather agreeable one despite the lack of the proper utensils, quickly became somewhat unnerving. His conversation with...what was his name again?...took so many sharp turns, he should've felt dizzy. It was easy to feel a little sorry for the guy, though; surrounded by stangers in a very strange place, it was hard to blame him for being so alarmed.

The Sun Room occurred as a more enjoyable choice to spend the time; he had nothing against music, but something about being surrounded by some of the most unruly characters he'd ever met, each of them armed with cacophonous weaponry, didn't sound smart. Once his nurse departed, the young man picked out a cozy little spot near a flood of sunshine and settled in, cradling his head in the palms of his hands. There, he stared up almost bitterly at the ceiling with sharply focused eyes, still exuding the same unapproachable sense of being as ever.

The room was warm, even a little comforting, for any of the tired, weary masses found in Landel's halls, or even those who just craved a little peace and quiet. All he could hear, from end of the room, were soft footfalls and hushed voices. That sounded just fine to the 'berry head.

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Huh... Xigbar was certainly at the edge of his ~~seat~~ armrest during the explanation, tapping his chin as he heard Obi-Wan describing what had gone on. And, more importantly, that the kid had bought his off-the-cuff answer.

It was that last bit, about the 'abilities and philosophies', that had Xigbar curious. Before he'd been a Nobody, Xemnas had been a researcher... but a researcher without his memories. Had his Superior been a member of one of those groups, or some equivalent? It would explain the severe attitude, at least.

"I'm listening; what kind of abilities and philosophies? I'm guessing they didn't gather around campfires and sing songs."

Xigbar was a little curious about the Sith, but that could wait for another time. For now he was just intrigued enough to keep listening.

Obi-Wan softly snorted at the older man's comment. "You could say that," he said. "They embraced a lot of the ideals Jedi reject. Used their emotions to manipulate the Force, often as a weapon to further their selfish agendas. To them, their own ends were far more important than the rest of the galaxy. Some even used their abilities to practice dark...sciences, I suppose you could say, sometimes at the expense of entire races."

Now, Xigbar was all for dark sciences and selfish agendas, but there was one little clause in there that negated any possibility whatsoever that Xemnas, and indeed the entire Organization, could have been a part of that bunch.

"Man, while I'm normally not someone to say this, we could really use one of those dudes right about now. Someone who could add a little bit of firepower to our side would be just peachy with me, and heck, it'd be refreshing to have someone who's used to being on the other end of the scalpel."

"But it doesn't sound like the dude I'm thinking of. Matter of fact, there's one extremely important reason that my guy couldn't be a part of all that, even if he'd love to massage the 'Force' into his own personal tool."

Obi-Wan turned to the scarred man, his mouth tightening into a thin frown. "Trust me," he said. "You don't want any of those people here. They have no interests except for their own, and most would not hesitate to stab you in the back if it suited them. Some orders are sparsely populated because their members ultimately turn against and betray one another." The Jedi wasn't quite sure what he'd do if a Dark Jedi (or worse, a Sith) showed up, and he wasn't particularly eager to find out.

What the older prisoner said next was a little intriguing, though. Obi-Wan couldn't help but be a little curious, especially since it was possible this "dude" could arrive at Landel's someday. "And what reason is that?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Hah! Dude, I'm a part of the Organization; back-stabbing is the order of the day." He laughed at that, rolling his eye and patting the Jedi on the head again. Wasn't it cute, when humans thought that betraying each other was reserved for the 'Dark Guys'? Heck, Xigbar had to put up with the backbiting all day long, and that was before he was told about the 'real' traitors.

But at that last question? Oh oh oh, finally, a good opening for him to close the conversation on his terms! With one last grin, he chimed out, "Wouldn't you like to know~?"

Then he hopped to his feet, waved, offered his usual "Be a good boy, now~!" and trotted off to find a warm little spot by himself. This had been a wonderful day.

Obi-Wan turned to watch him go, his eyebrows sharply furrowing. "Hey, where are you going?" he said, but it was too late - the scarred man had made his way towards the other side of the room, and the Jedi didn't feel like chasing after him.

Back-stabbing is the order of the day, he'd said. Obi-Wan frowned, unsure of what to make of the man. While it was obvious the older prisoner was going out of his way to be irritating, the Jedi couldn't get a feel for his intentions beyond that. He certainly didn't give off any malicious vibes, but there was still something strange about the whole situation. It was a little unsettling.

Well, he'd have time to think about the offer, discuss it with Qui-Gon, and get his opinion on the matter. It was certainly an interesting prospect, either way.

Besides, Obi-Wan realized he now had the time to meditate by himself, which had been his initial reason for talking with the man. But the Sun Room was a lot busier than it had been when Obi-Wan had first arrived. On one side of the room, a prisoner with long, reddish hair looked like he was literally on the brink of insanity. On the other, a nurse had just finished scolding a larger, angry prisoner and was now wheeling him off to who knew where.

But then he turned his gaze onto Qui-Gon and saw the Jedi Master had finished his mediations and was apparently conversing with the other patients. Despite all the activity going on around them, Qui-Gon was the perfect picture of serenity. Just looking at him smoothed out the lines on Obi-Wan's face, and his expression softened considerably. Even though Obi-Wan's training was more or less over, Qui-Gon still served as a steady constant in his life that he could always turn to.

Really, Obi-Wan knew he was blessed in a lot of ways, even if he was probably fated to keep his feelings tightly locked in place, never to see the light of day. Simply knowing Qui-Gon was a great privilege, being his friend a great honor. It was a gift beyond price that he would always cherish.

With that comforting thought, Obi-Wan settled into a comfortable position, closed his eyes, and began to take deep, slow breaths...

Day 21 - Sun Room

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